Spending The Day With Ashby!

Since school started back this fall I have been trying to work as many days as possible. Because of this, I have spent many days away from Ashby and I have really missed our time together. Today was an awesome day. We woke up early and ate a sausage biscuit from McDonald's, then we gave Kali and bath, then we played with finger paints, then wrote in colored shaving cream, then went to my school for a little bit, then played outside!! I had so much fun just hanging out with her today. All I keep thinking is that these days are going by so fast and she is growing up and one day I'm going to wish that these days were back! Hope you enjoy these pics :)

College...

This week I start the 4th week of the fall semester and I am already starting the countdown to the end of the semester. On Monday nights I have Reading 343 which I haven't really learned much in to this point. The great part about this class is that we always get out early but we really don't learn much which won't be good when it comes time to take the test! I go to school Monday and Tuesday night and Wednesday late afternoon which has really been a struggle. I am already tired of fixin supper and sitting down to eat then leaving a few minutes later to the sound of Ashby crying because she wants me to stay home. Then I get to school and I feel like I'm really not learning much and I feel like it is all for nothing. I know that in a couple of years I will be teaching and all that money will be flowing in (haha) and I will know that it was all for a purpose but for now it's just not feeling that way. I don't want my blog to be a big prayer request line, but for this post I am going to ask for your prayers. I know through everything that we have been through, prayer is the only thing that gets you through certain situations, so I am asking you now to remember me and this semester when you pray.
Until next time...

Yesterday's Youth

Last night at church we had our annual Senior Appreciation Banquet. It was a time for our church staff to come together and serve the more mature members of our church (and our parents) who mean so much to us. Thanks to our church life minister, we had fried chickens, along with mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll and then dessert. Soon after dinner was served the church staff, and their lovely wives, were the entertainment for the evening. We sang a few great old songs and had a blast. I know that some people would think that an evening like this would be boring, but I look forward to it every year.
Every month, this same group comes together on a Thursday night to share food, memories, games and fun. We are always priveledged to enjoy this evening with them which is something I love. There are many things that I love about sharing this evening with our "Yesterday's Youth" like great food, stories, and lots of laughter, but my favorite part is just getting to sit and visit with the generation of our church that has made it what it is today. In my opinion, South Union Baptist Church is the greatest church in the world. The main reason for this is because of the members of Yesterday's Youth. I love each and every one of them and I am so thankful that they are such great examples of faithful followers of Christ!

Substitute Teaching

For any of you that don't know, I am a substitute teacher. I have been working at Daingerfield High School for about 2 and a half years and I really enjoy it. Some people have asked why I substitute at the high school when I want to teach elementary. Here are the reasons why...

At the high school level:
1. you don't have to memorize names
2. you don't have to take children to the restroom
3. if you work for a coach you usually have a shorter day
4. and I really like the staff in the office

When working at the elementary level:
1. you work all day and are standing most of the day
2. you don't have a big break in the middle of the day
3. you have to know all of the kids names
4. there is more work involved

Now I know some of you are thinking, "it sounds like she is just lazy!" But how many of you would rather do less work for the same amount of money? I know I would, plus I get to see all of our students when I work at the high school.

Thankfully I will be finished with college in a few short semesters and I will be the one calling for substitutes! I know the day I get to walk across that stage and declare to all of my family and friends that I am a college graduate will be a victorious day in my life and I can't wait for it!!!
Until then, just keep me in your prayers because I know that I'm gonna need it!

Busy Life!

Wow! It's been many months since my last post. I know there aren't many who read this blog since the only one who has noticed that lack of a post in the past 9 months has been Josh! Oh well.
To catch you up on what has been going on in the last few months, it's going to take a lot, so I will just make a list.

1. School
2. School
3. School
4. Summer
5. School
6. Youth Events
7. School
8. School
9. School
10. School

As you can tell, the majority of my time is taken up by school. This semester I am taking 12 hours again. I know that for a fresh college student, who is only going to school (and maybe working) this doesn't really seem like a lot. But for me it seems like an overload. I have class from 7-9:45 on Monday and Tuesday nights, then I have a class from 4-6:45 on Wednesday night, and then one online class. My prayer for this semester is that it will fly by so fast that I won't even realize that I had such a crazy schedule. I hate missing out on things with my family and with our students at church but I know that this is something that I must do now or it will only be harder to finish!
I will try to continue to blog as much as possible but please forgive me if it is not as often as you would like. God has done some awesome things in our life since January and I would love to tell you all about them, but I really need to do some homework right now, so that post will just have to wait until a later time.
Please be in prayer for me this semester...it's going to take a lot of prayer to get me through this one!
Until next time...

New Beginnings!

I know I'm a little late on the "New Year" blog entry but I'm just a little behind. Please forgive me.



I have officially completed all of my "first days" of college! I am taking Children's Lit, Advanced Expository Writing, Advanced Technological Communications, and Reading Overviews and Strategies. I actually think I am going to really enjoy all of my classes. The only negative is that there will be a lot of homework in every class. Usually you get one or two that are a little easier on the homework but all of these have about the same amount. Even though it will be a lot of work I really think I am going to learn a lot and I am excited about this semester!





Ashby is doing lots of new things since the last time I talked with all of you! She is using the potty almost all of the time. We still have quite a few accidents but it is getting better and better everyday! She has 16 teeth so her smile is beautiful!!! She has been moved up to the 2 year old class at Mother's Day Out and she loves her new teacher, Mrs. Stacey. We have watched Strawberry Shortcake and Cars more times than we can count in the past month and we are lovin every minute of it! She has started talking like crazy and you can actually understand most of the things that she says! She is growing up so quick and time is flying by but we are trying to make the most of every minute we have with her.




As far as church goes...IT'S AWESOME!!! On our first Wednesday night of the new year I was privileged to lead one of my junior high girls to the Lord! It was such an awesome way to ring in the new year! Our first big event was Hot Hearts in Beaumont Texas. We took 19 kids and had a blast! On the first night we had 3 students that changed their eternal destination!!! As if God hadn't blessed us enough on Friday night, He decided to show off a little more and 2 more of our kids got saved on Saturday!!!! Josh and I are still beaming from a wonderful weekend and wonderful blessings!!



So far this has been an awesome year and I only expect it to get better! I hope this finds all of you having a great week!

Christmas!

Who loves Christmas? Since I was a little girl I have loved Christmas!! I learned, growing up in church, that Jesus is the reason for the season, Joy to the World the Lord is Come, and it was a Silent Night! I know that without Christ there would be no Christmas. I am so glad that Jesus came to earth and died and rose so that I could have everlasting life through him!!!

Every year at Christmas time I would look so forward to going to Granny's for Christmas Eve and Grandma's Christmas night. On Christmas Eve we would listen to the same cassette tape and make sugar cookies, date nut balls, and rolls at our house. Then we would travel the long 5 minute car ride over to Granny's to share our goodies with all of my cousins. There are six siblings on my mom's side of the family and I have 18 cousins (and now between all of the cousins we almost have 40 kids) so you can imagine that it was a little hectic at Granny and Pappaw's house. I loved getting to play outside until it was time to eat, then eat all the scrumptious holiday food, then beg our parents to let us open the presents under the tree! Among the many traditions that I share with my family is Christmas Caroling. Before we could open any presents,the girls would pile up in our van and the boys in Aunt Phyllis' van and off we went to sing to all of our close family friends! The list has changed over the years but it is still a tradition that must be carried on. We would finally get back to the house and open our presents, then our parents would rush us out the door to get back home before Santa came to visit our house! I could go on and on about Christmas, but I will stop here...some of the greatest memories of my life are from Christmas time!!

Now that I'm older and I get to spend Christmas with Josh's family, I realize that not everyone shares a crazy Christmas with a house full of screaming kids, but I still love it! I cannot wait to step into Granny's house on Christmas Eve this year and start making memories with Ashby! Her memories will be different than mine, but they will be filled with love. Big families are crazy but I wouldn't want it any other way!